Foot rest



Jan. 1', 1935.

A. P. KARSIKAS FOOT REST Filed Aug. 9, 1935 .5 vide a foot rest of the characterdescribed which Patented Jan. 1, 1 9355 -N iSTATEs PATENT OFFICE 1. wa "room E1381} 3 Arvid P., Karsikas, Ashtabula, Ohio, assignor to The Ashtabula Bow Socket Company, Ashtahula, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application a ust. 9, 1933,, Serial No. 684,373 sc en (01:155-169 This. invention relates as indicated tofootrests:

and'more particularly to a. foot restxdcsigned for use in automobiles andrthe like.

It is among the objects of. this invention to prois characterized by its neatness of, appearance; rigidity of construction, durability-in use, case of assembly and low cost ofmanufacture...

It is a further object of this invention to. pro-. vide a foot rest of thecharacter described which has the inherent strength of a truss without offering any material obstruction on the. floor of. the vehicle either when in positionwfor useor when folded out of theway: and-not used.

It is. a. further and more particular: object; :of

this inventionto provide a; foot. rest in which the foot rail is eovered' by somesuitable material such, as carpet and: in: which such covering mas terial is secured by meansanot apparenton the face of the. rail and 'which is particularly dcslb able from the standpoint ofthefacilityrofasscm blage, as well" as thesecure: manner m whioh the covering is held on the 1 1.?

Other objects of this invention WillLaPPQa-r as the descriptionproceeds. 1 I j H To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention; then Qflnsistsof-thc means hereinafter fully: described and-par-tiom larly pointedout inthe claims,

. The annexd drawingandthe following description set forthv in detail eertain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however,. but 1 one of "various 'me: chanical forms in which the. principle. of. inclinvention maybe used. f j

Insaid annexed drawingz e' Figplis an end elevationalviewofafoot rest constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention; Fig; 2 isa broken sidcelevational view of the device as illustrated'in'Fig. 1;Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of" the rail portion of the device as illustrated inthe previous fig-- ures taken one. plane substantially indicated by the line 3-3' in Fig; 2; Fig. sis a frag-mentary, end .elevational view of a footrest similar to that illustrated in Fig. 1 but characteriz dby the employment of a slightly different type of footrail'; Fig. 5 is afragmentary side elevational view of a foot rest showing yet another type of rail construction; and Fig- 6 isa transverse sectional view similar to Fig. 3' but showing adifassembled there is, of course, a certain amount ferent form of covering forthe rail. I

Referring now more specifically to the drawing and more especially to Figures 1 and; 2, the

foot rest comprising this inventionincludes the usual bracket members 1 adapted to be bolted or similarly secured to the floor of vehicle body andto these bracket members 1 are pivotally se-- cured; side members 2. As viewed in Fig. l, the side-members 2 are provided with feet 3 which, when'the foot rest is in position for use on the floor of the car, rest. on such floor or more specifically, the covering thereon, to support the forward end of the rest. in the vicinity of the rail; The'side members 2 have extensions 4 arranged angularly to the body thereof and it is between these angular extensions that. the rail presently to be described isl secured in the manner hereinafter more, fully explained. l a The raiL-generallyindicated at 5 in Figures 1 U031 consists; of a substantially cylindricalbody member 6 which isprovided with a slot or opening b extendingisubstantially throughout the en-. tireklength. of such'body and along one side.

"For purposes of convenience in describing the rail member illustrated in the several figures in the: drawingpthe body portion offthe several types \of'construction will be referred to as a channel-shaped member and it is, therefore, to be understood that by the term channel-shaped member is'meant any suitable variation of the crossssectional' form of the types chosen for purposes of illustration and'that the invention applies toany type rail in which the bodymember isprovided with a longitudinal opening along one, side into which the covering may be inserted andz'within which the same may be secured in the manner hereinafter more-fully explained.

As most clearly illustrated in Fig.13, the rail 5;:ior more specificallythewbody portion 6 thereof, is encompassed by a close-fitting sleeve 8 of any; suitable covering material such as carpet, fabricandthe like. The covering member 8 is in' the form of a sleeve such as may be produced by folding over a rectangular piece of suitable material'andthen sewing or similarly securing :togethenYas at 9, the longitudinally contiguous edges of. the covering. After the covering has beensocircularized, i. e., the longitudinal edges thereof secured together, it is. assembled on the body member 6 byfirst folding into substantially the form illustrated in Figure 3 and then telesconically en agin the same with the bod m m- Jbfi'llr After-the covering and body member are so of looseness of the covering with respect to the bled, however, the same are held in assembled relation by means of a rod which is passed axially through the body member 6 and holds the reentrant folded and secured edges of the covering from coming out of the opening or longitudinal slot 7. Not only does this rod prevent the parts from becoming relatively dissembled but it also exerts sufficient tension on the folded portion of the covering within the body so that the covering is drawn taut on the outer periphery of the body. I

The angular projections 4 of the side members 2 are provided with cylindrical recesses generally indicated at 11 into which the ends of the carpeted or covered rail may be snugly fitted.

The inner diameter of these recesses will be such as to receive in compression the ends of the carpet or covering overlying the rail so that the edges of the covering are protected against-excessive wear and fraying.

The rod 10 employed for the purpose of res taining the covering on the rail is the same means which is employed for the purpose of maintaining the side members and the rail proper in assembled relation by passing through the side members 2 and threadably receiving securing nuts 12.

As previously indicated, the cross-sectional form of the rail portion of the device may assume any desired shape such as the elliptical form 13 illustrated in Figure 4 andthe rectangular form 14 illustrated in Figure 5. In each of these several forms of modifications similar parts will be designated by similar reference characters employed in the description of Figures 1 to .3 in order to avoid duplication of explanation.

In Figure 4 the rail portion comprises a substantially elliptical body member which,along one side, is provided with an opening to receive'the carpet or covering which is folded over and inserted similarly to the manner'in which the covering was inserted as explained in connection with Figure 3. The folded over portions of the covering adjacent the longitudinal contiguous edges which are secured together may, in the.

construction such as illustrated in Figure 4, be positioned slightly differently relatively to the rod 10 and the opening '7, such diiferent positions usually being dictated by the limited space within the metallic body of the rail. The only point which must be carefully kept in mind in the proportion of the various parts forming the assembly is that the loop of material within the body of the rail be such that. when engaged by the rod 10, the material on" the surface of the body will be drawn taut.

In Figure 5, a further modification of the rail, particularly its cross-sectional form, has been illustrated but as previously indicated, the principles of construction are substantially identical with those disclosed in and described in connection'with the previous figures.

In Figure 6 there is illustrated a form of rail construction embodying a slotted body portion 15 encompassed by a rubber sleeve 16, such sleeve provided with anaxially extending projection 17 on its inner periphery adapted to extend into the slot in the body 15'. As above indicated, the sleeve 16 is made of rubber or any other suitable moldable composition and when madejof rubber or some material having flexibility, the molded inner diameter of the sleeve may be slightly less than the outside diameter of the body 15 so that when the two parts are telescopically engaged, the sleeve 16 will snugly grasp the body 15 and the rib' 17 will prevent relative rotation between the two parts. It is to be understood that the sleeve 16 need not be composed entirely of rubber but may have imbedded therein layers of fabric or like material for the purpose of strengthening and reinforcing the same.

The construction of a rail according to the principles of this invention is particularly desirable for ,various reasons which may be briefly enumerated as follo,ws:-There are no means apparent on the surface of the rail whereby the covering is secured thereon and accordingly, it is possible to produce a construction which is more highly decorative than those which rely upon external means for securing the covering.

1 T-he manner in which the several parts are initially prepared and ultimately assembled is ex- ..tremely simple requiring no special apparatus and accordingly the device may be constructed at a minimum of cost.

The employment of the rod which extends through the hollow rail produces an assembly which, from a structural standpoint, has the usual attributes of strength found in a truss so that an extremely rigid and durable assembly results from a light weight construction. YOther modes .of applying the principle of this invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means statedby any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

It is therefore particularly pointed out and distinctly. claimed as this invention:

1." In afoot rest of the-character described, the combinationof spacedbracket members; a foot rail-extending between said bracket members and comprising a body member provided with a longitudinally extending opening along one side thereof, a sleeve cover for said body closely fitted about the same and-extending into said opening, a securing member outside said cover and extending longitudinally of said body within said opening, and means engaging said securing member and clamping said bracket members against said body member.

2. In a foot rest of the character described, a foot rail comprising an elongated body member provided with a longitudinal opening along one side thereof, a sleeve cover for said body closely fitted about the same and having a fold thereof extending into said opening, a securing member extending longitudinally of said body member within said opening and within said fold, caps encompassing said cover and said body member at the ends thereof, and means securing said caps to said securing member.

3. In a foot rest of the character described, the combination of spaced bracket members, afoot rail comprising a-channel-shaped body member, a sleeve of covering material around said body and depressed into the opening of said channel member, and means extending longitudinally of said body in said opening securing said covering in said channel, and means engaging said lastnamed means and clamping said brackets to said body member.

4. In a foot'rest of the character described, a foot-rail comprising a body member provided with a longitudinally extending opening along one side thereof, a sleeve of covering material around said body member and extending into said opening, a securing rod extending longitudinally of said body member within said opening, engaging said sleeve to secure the same in closefitting engagement-on said body and means securing said rod in fixed relation with said body member.

5. In a foot rest of the character described, a foot rail comprising a substantially cylindrical body member provided with an axially extending slot in the wall thereof, a covering for said body member closely fitting about the same and ex-.

tending along connected opposite edges into said slot, means extending axially of said body within the same and securing said covering thereon and means securing said first-named means in fixed relation with said body member.

6. In a foot rest of the character described, the combination of spaced bracket members, a foot rail arranged between said bracket members and comprising a substantially cylindrical body member provided with an axially extending slot in the wall thereof, a covering for said body closely fitting about the same and extending along connected opposite edges into said slot, and a rod extending axially through said body securing said covering thereon and means securing said rod in fixed relation with said bracket members.

7. In a foot rest of the character described, the combination of spaced bracket members, a foot rail extending between such brackets and com,- prising a body member provided with a longitu dinally extending opening along one side thereof, a sleeve cover member closely fitting aboutsaid body member and having a part extending into said opening, means extending axially through,

said body member securing said covering thereon,

cap-like elements connected with said bracket members closely overlying said covering at the ends of said rail and means engaging said elements and holding said first-named means in fixed relation with said body member.

8. In a foot rest of the character described, a pair of brackets, a foot rail comprising a channel-shaped member, a substantially rectangular strip of carpet folded about said body in closely fitting engagement and with its longitudinal edges secured together and inserted in the open ing of said channel member, and a rod extending axially through said body member engaging the loop formed by the secured edges of the carpet securing the same on said body member, said rod engaging said brackets and having means clamping the brackets against the body member.

9. In a foot rest for an automobile, in combination, a pair of brackets adapted to be aflixed to the floor of a car, a hollow elongated body 

